BOSTON — Imagine how many times Doug and Christine Lane must have beamed with pride over the years as they watched their son Spencer slowly and steadily transform himself from an unsteady toddler to a talented teenaged figure skater. That’s what parents do, right? In good times and bad, they’re first in line with the cheers, the hugs, the words of encouragement.
But when the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships were getting underway Wednesday at TD Garden, it was just the dad, Doug, standing under a spotlight and speaking words that were on a par with Spencer’s skating. Memorable. Forward-looking.
It was just under two months ago that Spencer, 16, and his mom were among the 28 members of the figure skating community who lost their lives in the collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. This uber-competitive but tight-knit community has been in mourning ever since, even as training and the competitions go on, as they must. And so it was with Wednesday’s remembrance at the world championships, which included remarks by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston mayor Michelle Wu and International Skating Union president Jae Youl Kim.
But it was Doug Lane of Barrington, R.I., representing all the families who had lost loved ones in the crash, and he spoke in a way that suggested he has watched a lot of figure skating over the years. He was precise. He was dignified. And though his voice cracked a few times, he expressed no anger.
And he did it all in exactly two minutes — less than one of Spencer’s short programs.
“They haven’t really invented vocabulary to talk about the grief we’re all feeling,” he began. “So what I thought I would do with my time today is share a few thoughts of hope.”
So there it was, right there: Hope. That’s the message this grieving man brought to the world figure skating stage.
Doug Lane speaks during a remembrance for the members of the figure skating community who were killed in the American Eagle Flight 5342 crash. (Brian Fluharty / Imagn Images)
“My first hope,” Lane said, “is that even as we remember the amazing people from our figure skating community that we lost, we take extra care to lift up the young skaters that are still here. They’re hurting. I hope we can support them in their skating journeys, but I also hope we can help them find happiness and impact off the ice as well.
“My second hope is that we extend the love and support to people beyond the figure skating community who have also been impacted.”
He thanked “the first responders who jumped into action to help our loved ones, without regard to their physical or mental perils that they faced.”
What Lane said next brought home the harsh reality of what happened that night in Washington. A plane and a helicopter collided and exploded. Sixty-seven people were killed.
“The final hope I’ll share today is that we can prevent something like this from ever happening again,” he said.
“Even a layperson like me can easily identify the systematic breakdowns that allow this to happen. But rather than looking for places to place blame, I hope that we can work with our elected officials to make air travel safer for everyone and for all our families.”
The words were simple and direct and did not reveal or even hint at a political agenda. In identifying himself as “a layperson,” he was speaking to you, to me. And in a world where blame assignment has become all the rage, Lane would have none of it.
“I hope that we can work with our elected officials to make air travel safer for everyone and for all our families.”
Lane’s remarks concluded the remembrance ceremony and served as a lead-in to the pairs competition. The first skaters were Gabriella Izzo, raised in Massachusetts but representing Austria, and her partner, Luc Maierhofer.
“They have screens in the locker rooms, so I was sitting there, and I started to cry before coming out,” Izzo said. “It was definitely a moment. It makes it more. It makes it more everything. All the emotions you’re feeling. You’re reminded that this is a sport that brings people together, but it is also a sport, and there are other parts of life, and you appreciate everything that much more.”
Lane, speaking briefly with the media after the ceremony, was asked, in so many words, how he’s doing. He said keeping busy helps. He noted that his son Milo, 12, is back at school.
“He does really well in school and time with friends,” Lane said. “In the evenings, when the house feels like it doesn’t have everybody who’s supposed to be there, for both of us, that’s the hardest time. But under the circumstances, we’re persevering and doing our best.”
Spencer Lane was supposed to be a medal presenter Wednesday night. (Courtesy of The Skating Club of Boston)
Lane also noted that Spencer was supposed to be on the ice Wednesday night as a medal presenter.
Instead, it was Doug Lane who appeared at TD Garden, delivering a short program that will be remembered as the highlight of the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships.
Spencer Lane would have been proud.
(Photo of the TD Garden video board displaying a tribute to the victims of the plane crash: Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images)